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Police said Martha Colburn, 32, and her three children were sleeping in the vehicle, which was "cluttered with their belongings."

Colburn, 32, faces counts of child neglect and possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

The children were taken to Project Harmony and are now in protective custody, according to police.

"It's not uncommon this time of year to find children that are exposed to the elements of cold weather and combining that with families that may be struggling financially, it's not unheard of for children to be found sleeping in a car," said Gene Klein, executive director at Project Harmony.

Klein said investigators look at a number of factors in these cases.

"An assessment of whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the case, domestic violence history, those sorts of things really help evaluate the children's safety," he said.

Police said Colburn told officers that she was kicked out of her mother's home and didn't have a place to stay.